Pre-application advice
Our pre-application enquiry service is now open for all development types – from small householder enquiries to large scale residential and commercial schemes.
The national planning portal contains useful guides, information and an interactive house to assist you in the majority of planning related queries. In addition, there are a number of Planning Consultants in the local area who are able to provide you with advice along with pre-application support.
Service features
Our new enhanced service now provides input from all relevant Planning Specialist Services, which includes:
- urban design
- ecology
- heritage
- landscape/visual and trees
- specialist planning policy input when necessary
The Planning team will use specialist services based on the project's size and complexity.
Once you have submitted an enquiry
You will receive a co-ordinated response to your enquiry overseen by a development management case officer. If you require a meeting with the case officer or if the case officer deems a meeting would be beneficial to understanding your scheme then meetings are provided as part of the charged service.
If a meeting takes place to discuss your scheme, or in all other cases, you will receive a response in the form of a fully considered written professional assessment of your proposal in report form.
Please refer to the list of relevant fees and charges, along with expected response timeframes.
Before seeking pre-application advice, you should check to see if you need planning permission for your proposed development. The formal pre-application advice service can provide site specific advice on proposals that require planning permission.
Requirements for listed buildings tend to be bespoke and advice can be given as part of the pre-application process about which elements of proposals will require listed building consent and whether any of the works can be classed as repair.
If planning permission is required for your proposed development, our pre-application advice service will give you a steer on whether you are likely to be successful with your planning application before it is submitted.
If we believe your application is unlikely to be successful, we can offer advice on how issues with the application can be overcome. This can save you time and money by enabling potential issues to be identified and resolved before the application is submitted.
Disclaimer
Pre-application advice cannot guarantee that a planning application will be approved, as the planning officer will not be able to consider any comments or responses that may be made once an application has been submitted. We will give you the best advice possible based on the information provided and our advice should assist in ensuring that all the necessary information is provided with a subsequent planning application.
We accept no legal liability in contract or in tort for the accuracy and/or quality of the advice given.
Confidentiality
While the pre-application enquiry is being considered, all details will be kept confidential from the general public and Town/Parish Councils (unless authorised by you or where we are required to release details by law).
However, if a planning application is submitted in respect of a scheme related to the pre-application enquiry, then details of the pre-application will no longer be confidential. This is because the information contained in that pre-application enquiry becomes public as part of the public consultation process when determining the planning application.
Seeking pre-application advice will help identify the key planning issues upfront, and will enable you to submit a better planning application, complete with all the right supporting documentation. It should also lead to a reduction in the number of planning applications that are either refused, withdrawn, or have to be resubmitted because the proposal is unacceptable or needs significant amendments.
For larger schemes, pre-application advice should allow heads of terms for planning obligations (such as Section 106) to be identified at an early stage.
Please submit your pre-application enquiry using the facility to add any supporting documents, such as drawings or plans to the enquiry. Providing these will enable a better response.
Once you have submitted your enquiry, please pay using our online payment form.
The minimum level of information that needs to be provided is:
- the pre-application enquiry form
- a location plan
- sketched/scaled drawings
- detailed drawings for more complex proposals
- the appropriate fee
Please note your enquiry will not be validated until the appropriate payment is made.
Fees and payment
The fee payable for pre-application advice is based largely on the size and complexity of the development proposal received. Mixed use developments involving more than 1 of the categories in the fee category shall be charged on the basis of the category that attracts the highest fee.
Depending on the nature of the proposals, Pre-application advice on listed buildings may necessitate a site visit. If this is required an additional fee will be charged.
You can view the fees payable for pre-application advice in the tables below.
| Type | Cost (£) | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| Householder | £130.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Householder with Site Visit | £255.00 | 6 weeks, site visit, written advice only |
| Follow-up advice | £80.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Advertisements | £130.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Adverts with Site Meeting | £255.00 | 6 weeks |
| Listed Building Advice | £130.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Listed building with site visit - applies to commercial and residential applicants | £255.00 | 6 weeks, site visit, written advice only |
| Shopfronts | £245.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Change of Use | £255.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Change of Use and Site Visit | £385.00 | 6 weeks, site visit, written advice only |
| Trees and hedgerows | £110.00 | 6 weeks, site visit and verbal advice |
| Development type | Cost (£) | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| New residential dwelling | £385.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build & conversion): 2 to 4 dwellings | £640.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 5 to 9 dwellings | £1,280.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 10 to 24 dwellings | £2,455.00 | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 25 to 49 dwellings | £3,735.00 | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 50 to 100 dwellings | £6,935.00 | Up to two-hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 100 to 200 dwellings | Price on application | Up to two-hour meeting and written response |
| Residential dwellings (new build and conversion): 200 or more dwellings | Price on application | Up to two-hour meeting and written response |
Other developments
| Development type | Cost (£) | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): up to 465sqm | £95.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): over 465sqm | £295.00 | 6 weeks, written advice only |
| Development type | Cost (£) | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): up to 500sqm | £640.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): between 500 and 999sqm | £1705.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): between 1000 and 2499sqm | Price on application | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): between 2500 and 9999sqm | Price on application | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): 10000sqm or more | Price on application | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Development type | Cost (£) | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): less than 1,000sqm and site area is less than 0.5 hectares | £1,705.00 | 6 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Other floorspace (new build and conversion including change of use of land): over 1,000sqm and site area is over 0.5 hectares | Price on application | 10 weeks. Up to one hour meeting and written response |
| Major Development Proposals that do not fit with above categories | Price on application | Agreed on application |
| Wind or solar farms | Price on application | Agreed on application |
While we aim to provide pre-application advice within timescale, more complex cases may require additional time. Factors such as the need for site visits, multi-agency consultations, or detailed technical assessments may extend the process. In such instances, we will inform applicants of any revised timeframes as early as possible.
Pre-application advice cannot guarantee that a planning application will be approved, as the planning officer will not be able to consider any comments or responses that may be made once an application has been submitted.
We will give you the best advice possible based on the information provided and our advice should assist in ensuring that all the necessary information is provided with a subsequent planning application.
We accept no legal liability in contract or in tort for the accuracy and/or quality of the advice given.
- refunds or part-refunds will only be given if it is deemed the advice given is less than appropriate for the service offer (quantity), and/or is deemed to contain serious errors (quality)
- any claims for a refund shall be made via West Northamptonshire Council’s complaints procedure
We provide advice on measures to mitigate the impact that any proposed development will have on the road network. This includes advising planning authorities when a development will affect the highway.
We recognise the value of early engagement with developers and other stakeholders. This can enable a clear understanding between relevant parties of what facilities and infrastructure will be necessary to support development.
We encourage pre-application discussions on these matters at the earliest opportunity as this can help identify key considerations earlier, paving the way to a quicker and smoother planning application process.
For developers seeking highways development pre-application advice and details about charges, please refer to the Highways Pre-App Charging Schedule.
All Highway Pre-App enquiries should be sent to [email protected].
You can view our Highways Pre-Application Advice Service and Charges.
Last updated 16 April 2025